New inter-ministerial committee to review and strengthen Singapore’s anti-money laundering regime

Singapore has stated that it uses a” full of government approach” to fight terrorism funding and money laundering. Now, a high-level steering committee made up of senior members from the Home Affairs Minister, Finance Ministry, and the MAS is in charge of this.

While the recently announced inter-ministerial committee will appear at reviewing the program” with the profit” of what is being learned from the billion-dollar money fraud case and keep Singapore’s government up to date, Ms. Indranee stated that this multi-agency steering committee would continue to handle” whole-of-government” work.

To prevent abuse by criminals, we may stretch our regulations and police where gaps are found. The council will report on its findings and development in due course, she said.

Singapore’s hard-earned reputation as a trustworthy and tidy business hub will be upheld, the minister continued.

Ms. Indranee told the House,” We will continue to hold our zero-tolerance approach towards money laundering, and we will do our best to ensure a strong and robust regulation plan.”

ACRA IS GOING TO POST ADDITIONAL RULES & nbsp,

The Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority ( ACRA ) is already taking more stringent regulations into consideration when it comes to directorships, professionals, and companies that assist companies with corporate filings.

Now, non-residents looking to establish businesses in Singapore must hire registered filing agents, also known as ACRA-authorised business service providers, to do so. & nbsp,

Like agents are required, among other things, to carry out buyer due diligence and look into the function and validity of a company structure. According to Ms. Indranee, they offer” another level of investigation, which is especially important for foreign-owned or controlled companies.”

In an effort to improve the effectiveness of Singapore’s anti-money fraud and nbsp regime, ACRA held a public consultation last year and proposed raising the penalties on accidental agents.

Additionally, it suggested a fresh Corporate Service Provider Bill that mandates ACRA registration for all organizations or individuals offering business administrative services within and outside of Singapore.

A requirement for & nbsp, corporate service providers, to make sure that people they appoint to serve as nominee directors are fit and proper and to meet certain training requirements if they hold more than the legally required number of nominee directorships, is also on ACRA’s wishlist.